Abstract
Buildings are significant drivers of greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. Improving the thermal comfort of occupants in free-running buildings and avoiding active and fossil fuel-based systems is the main challenge in many cities worldwide. However, the impacts of passive design measures on thermal comfort in cold semi-arid regions are seldom studied. With the rapid urbanization and the widespread use of personalised heating and cooling systems, there is a need to inform building designers and city authorities about passive design measures that can achieve nearly optimal conditions. Therefore, in this study, a global sensitivity analysis of the impact of passive design parameters on adaptive comfort in cold semi-arid climates was conducted. A representative residential building was simulated and calibrated in Quetta, Pakistan, to identify key design parameters for optimal thermal comfort. The results list and rank a set of passive design recommendations that can be used widely in similar climates. The results show that among the investigated 21 design variables, the insulation type of roof is the most influential design variable. Overall, the sensitivity analysis yielded new quantitative and qualitative knowledge about the passive design of buildings with personalised heating systems, but the used sensitivity analysis has some limitations. Finally, this study provides evidence-based and informed design recommendations that can serve architects and homeowners to integrate passive design measures at the earliest conceptual design phases in cold semi-arid climates.
Highlights
The urban populations in Asia and Africa are projected to become 64% and 56%, respectively, by 2050
The objectives of this paper are: (1) to conduct a sensitivity analysis utilising an EnergyPlus-based simulation environment to assess the effects of thermal control, solar access, building mass, passive cooling on thermal comfort; (2) to generate new knowledge on bioclimatic passive design strategies in low-rise residential buildings in cold semi-arid climates concerning adaptive thermal comfort and occupants’ comfort expectations; (3) to examine the relative autonomy of buildings from heating and cooling systems or to quantify their operation with personalised heating and cooling systems
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Summary
The urban populations in Asia and Africa are projected to become 64% and 56%, respectively, by 2050. Between 2010 and 2050, more than 60 percent of the expected urban population growth will occur in Asia [1]. Pakistan is among the Asian countries with high urbanization with 3 percent growth annually—one of the fastest growth rates in Asia [2]. According to the estimates of the United Nations Population Division, by 2025 almost 50 percent of the population will live in urban areas (more than one third do today) [3]. As in most Global South countries, medium-sized cities in Pakistan play a determinant role as a transitional pivot between rural and urban networks [5]. The rapid urban transformation process is impacting those medium-sized cities and affecting their urban centres and extending their peripheries
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